There was some upset from the village, some annoyance, but mostly just shock.

Chin was happy when I told him that he had fresh farmland. In a rare moment of joy, the man smiled at me and said thank you. Then he proceeded to berate me and question why I hadn't done this earlier.

Then came Chore Day. Chin knew what was going on to some degree, but he knew it like he knew it. It wasn't some grand meeting of the Sects and their disciples, but rather him taking advantage of some self important bastards and putting them to good use for once.

The skies were littered with little men and women riding in on swords and beasts. The people of the Hidden Viper came on giant verdant wyverns, each of their beasts flapping gently with Grace.

I stayed out of it.

This was Chin's doing and he would bear the consequences.

Some of them were familiar faces. I recognized a few of them from the first delegation of people who had come here to meet with me. I saw them scanning and looking around the place.

I wasn't hiding anymore. My sixth rank aura shined through the valley. But more importantly, neither was Rin Wi. She was also there, strong and noticeable and caused a slight uproar among the cultivators.

As did Gauntlet. He was dressed as a giant ten foot tall immortal rank cultivator.

I could have revealed myself to the whole planet and its sect system if I wanted to, but that would be too much attention, and I wasn't looking for that at the moment.

The Raging River came in wearing flowing blue robes and nice clothes.

"Cai Xuin!" I called out to the boy meditating in a field.

He jumped.

"Your father is here," I notified him.

He looked shocked.

"Your mother is here as well. Should I toss them out?"

"My mother?"

"You don't like them, right? They might try to find you and talk or whatever, but I can just toss them out of here if you want."

"I-- no. It's fine. But I would rather not meet them, if at all possible."

"Done," I said. "Anything else?"

Cai shook his head, his face still but his aura pensive.

"Are you sure?" I asked again. "I can just toss them out if you want?"

Again, he shook his head. I nodded, then called over Mei Shan and Fey Lin.

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"Mei, his parents might try to talk to him. Tell them they are not to do so. Get Gauntlet on them if they persist, okay?"

"Yes sir," Mei Shan bowed.

Sir? That was new.

It was better than mister or honored master.

********

Tai Lui fought with all his might during the hardest day of his life.

Three men, each immortal, each disgustingly strong played with him like he was nothing more than a pile of dead bones. One struck his ribs. The other, his legs, and the other his back.

He screamed and the world went red.

No, that was his blood entering his eyes. Screaming did nothing. It changed nothing. It didn't ease the pain or clear the red, but he had to do it.

He couldn't stay silent.

"Brother, I believe he is truly telling the truth," One of the immortals said.

He was tall and gaudy. His robes were bright and expensive, but had no style. He wore expensive hydes and jewelry that had been embedded into a spirit stone. And his eyes had the cold centered look, the type that would snap at someone for breathing wrong. He was the type of man you'd be afraid of from a distance.

"We do not know," the other one replied.

He was similar to the first man but lacked height and had genuine style. His clothes spoke of wisdom and power and the black but long beard on his face spoke of aged wisdom.

"Please, I speak the truth. I-- I swear it."

"Brother?" The bearded man spoke, turning to the last man in the group.

This one wore nothing but simple fighting robes and a sword. He was a warrior first. His blade was clean and sheathed and carried simply on his waist but his knuckles burned red with blood. He was the one who had battered Tai Lui the most and he was the monster that had cost him all of this pain.

He looked at his knuckles, and then he looked at Tai Lui.

"You speak the truth?" He asked.

"Yes," Tai Lui breathed. Bubbles of blood mixed with his words but he held still.

The third brother nodded.

"Then welcome, brother. You may join us. What is our is your and what is your is ours. Together we grow. Together we will take, and the world will know to feed us when we hunger and to give before we even ask. Welcome, fourth brother of the Outlands Thieves. You are weak. We shall fix that before going to claim your treasure in the valley, little brother."

"Th--thank you," Tai Lui sputtered.

He had come to these men. They had not come to him and he had begged to join their ranks. This was the test, to see if the man was willing and able to bear the pain of battle. And Tai Lui had proven himself.

They tossed him a small pill and his mouth opened to swallow it. He bit down on the pill, mixing it with his still leaky blood.

Crunch.

Liquid blood and qi flavoured his mouth. The bones within his body shifted and he felt his body move.

It hurt. It felt like some higher being had entered his body and was rearranging the organs within it but he bit his lip and hung on tight.

He breathed through the pain, biting his inner cheek off in the process and feeling it heal right away. He didn't scream, not in front of these men. Not if he could help it.

"Bear through it brother, the suffering will end soon," the warrior man said with real empathy, as if he was not the one who had cut him into bits just mere seconds ago.

"Only those with strong will are worthy of taking over the world," said the bearded one. "And you are such a person."

"Be proud," said the gaudy one. "We will make you stronger and you will do the same. We will take from all what we desire."

Loyalty, brotherhood, power, and respect.

Now this was an immortal.

He was healing and broken for the third time within the year. The first time had been with that broken immortal. That bastard ,he would have his revenge. The second time was after his tribulation and the third time was now.

He still remembered the man. How smug he had been. How easy the fight had been for him. He still remembered his broken pride.

He still remembered the pain. The suffering. He still remembered the pitied look in that man's eyes.

Of all his pain, that had been the worst.

He had learned his lesson. He had taken his pride and smothered it. He had changed it into something else. His pride had become his strength and his tool and he even managed to put it to the side to gain these new allies.

He controlled himself now.

The only thing left to do was to take vengeance.

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